Parade of politicians, leaders courted Kaloyeros

Alain Kaloyeros, a former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute, arrives to federal court in New York. Jurors on Thursday, July 12, 2018, found the former state university president and four developers guilty of bid-rigging in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" revitalization program. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) less

Alain Kaloyeros, a former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute, arrives to federal court in New York. Jurors on Thursday, July 12, 2018, found the former state university ... more

Photo: Seth Wenig

Photo: Seth Wenig

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Alain Kaloyeros, a former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute, arrives to federal court in New York. Jurors on Thursday, July 12, 2018, found the former state university president and four developers guilty of bid-rigging in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" revitalization program. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) less

Alain Kaloyeros, a former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute, arrives to federal court in New York. Jurors on Thursday, July 12, 2018, found the former state university ... more

Photo: Seth Wenig

Parade of politicians, leaders courted Kaloyeros

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In the three decades since Alain Kaloyeros was recruited by Gov. Mario Cuomo to the SUNY Graduate Research initiative, the Lebanese-American physicist rose to become the founder of what became SUNY Polytechnic Institute, a vast research and manufacturing network that put the Capital Region on the map as a high-tech hub.

State money flowed, accompanied by lines of elected officials eager to stand next to the man who was helping revive the economic fortunes of upstate New York.

It all came crashing down in September 2016, when Kaloyeros was arrested for taking part in a bid-rigging scheme along with Todd Howe, a business consultant and longtime confidant of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Kaloyeros and three upstate development executives were convicted Thursday on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud — verdicts that appear to ring down the curtain on the upstate development scandals.